Man Utd previously 'indicated' their stance on Zlatan Ibrahimovic returning to Old Trafford as a coach

Manchester United have previously indicated their stance on Zlatan Ibrahimovic becoming a coach at the club after he announced his retirement from football on Sunday.

The AC Milan forward decided to end his career at the age of 41 after his side's final game of the Serie A season, with his contract due to expire this summer.

It had initially been expected that he would join fellow Serie A side Monza, with French outlet Foot Mercato claiming that the Swedish international had a verbal agreement with the club.

But Ibrahimovic elected to call it a day, announcing his decision on the San Siro turf to the Rossoneri faithful after his side's 3-1 win over Hellas Verona.

The forward therefore ended a storied career which saw him star for Milan, PSG, Manchester United and Inter Milan, among several other clubs. He is Sweden's all-time leading goalscorer, with 62 goals from 122 games.

He had surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury at the end of the 2021/22 season, which blighted what turned out to be his final campaign in professional football.

He suffered a serious knee injury while playing for United in 2017, which ruled him out for seven months and ultimately resulted in his release after 28 goals in 46 matches for the club.

The Manchester club did re-sign him the following season after his recovery, but he only managed one goal in seven appearances before his second release.

During his time at Old Trafford, however, there were indications over a possible future coaching career.

Could Ibrahimovic return to Man Utd?

In an article published by The Sun in 2016, a source claimed to the outlet that Ibrahimovic was 'tapping into' then United boss Jose Mourinho in learn to learn more about the management side of the game.

It was also claimed that the Swede had spoken to Mourinho, and would prefer to begin his career as a coach: "He is enjoying picking up a few ideas and he fancies Italy [as a coach].

"Ibra will take a badge when things settle down for him early in the New Year and then progress it next summer."

However, upon his return to Old Trafford a year later, The Sun reported that Ibrahimovic had postponed his coaching badges in order to focus on his playing comeback.

A source from Old Trafford claimed that the club had 'indicated' there could be a coaching role for the forward 'at some point', but added that the player would 'take his time with his licences'.

There has not been an update since on whether Ibrahimovic could become a coach, and things have changed at Old Trafford since then - not least the four managers that have been in charge at United since the Swede's departure - but it remains to be seen as to whether the club will offer their former striker a role if both parties are interested.